Disclaimer: All standard disclaimers apply.

A/N: Hello! I'm back! My next story is about… For me to know and for you to find out, so enjoy! This story is a bit cynical and has loads of sarcasm. Decided to try a new approach. Anyway, a little bit about how I got into writing this story. I was writing this story, for a Malay essay, and my teacher was, "This has nothing to do with the topic I gave you…" Well, it seemed like it had a good 'Broken Illusion'-ish theme, so I guess it could work. So here it is! Enjoy this piece!

I'm Fine

Tell me that you're alright,

Yeah, everything is alright…

-Everything Is Alright, Motion City Soundtrack.

"Here I am, the pride and joy of my family…"

Tch-yeah, right. Load of Majorus'… (Censored, due to further use of language, though I think you all have a pretty good idea of what I wanted to say. It usually starts with bull…) That's something my sister would say. Pride and joy? As if. More like pain and burden. That's the way life is, isn't it. There has to be someone that's always wrong. That person, it's me. Gallagher, Gallagher Cassiendra. Sounds like a boy's name isn't it? Well, that's if you don't know that I have a Cassiendra to go with that name.

It's always my fault their lives are screwed up. They? Oh, right. Sure, I have a pair of adults who claim to be my parents, and two self-appointed siblings, an elder sister, a younger brother. I like to think I'm adopted. My family's blonde, I'm brunette. Three of them have the deep blue eyes, pretty common, one hazel, also quite common in Prontera. Come on, it's Prontera. Population's like, half of Rune-Midgard or something. Mine's icy blue. I'm taller than all four of them, don't know which parent I got my genes from… If they were my parents. Both are short. Well, practically all of them are short. I'm not pretty, or smart, or popular. That's my sister's attributes. Good sense of humor, almost good-looking, loud. That's my brother. He's popular, too. Me? I'm none of those.

So-called Mom, she's, well, like a Mom. So is Dad. Just that they tend to ignore me. A lot. Well, except if I'd done something wrong. If I did do something right, which is like, 0.00001 percent of the time, I'd be lucky to even get a nod of gratitude. Yes, I'm one of those daughters-turned-servants. Seriously. I was lucky they even let me become a knight. Well, not exactly let me. They sent me away to Izlude for a year or two. Hah, servant-less for two years. Did them some good. But it's not like they treated me better when I came back. The first thing was a, "Clean the rooms. We've got guests coming."

Gee, my two years in Izlude were fine! Yeah, much better than this dump you call home. No, I didn't miss this place. (Laughs) How 'bout dinner? Sure, we'll go out. Wow, tea? That would be great! Mother of Majorus'… (Censored, again.)

I muttered that under my breath. Of course, wouldn't want to get caught and hauled off into the basement, kicking and screaming excuses such as, "I still need to scrub the lavatory floors!" or, "The roof needs to be re-tiled!" or even the occasional, "The Pecopecos need their stables cleaned!" Yeah, they make me do and say crazy things. The things I do to get away from the basement. It's dark, wet, and… What in Niblheim is that moving in there! Sweet goddess of Midgard, I don't even want to think about it! Well, yeah, I guess this place is better than… (Gulp) The basement. I set to work quicker.

A few months after that, we're traveling to Payon. Some business trip my father had. Why don't we just take the Kafra warp service? Everyone does that! Morons… Nooo, we had to go there by Pecopeco and foot. Three guesses at who's walking. Well, my brother's saddled up in front of my father. Too young, they say. My mother and sister have their own Pecopecos. Sister's the eldest. She gets all the privileges. They'd even go as far to get her a Munak hat to make her happy. No one cares less if I was happy or not. Well, three guesses. Guessed already? Wow, you're clever. Yeah, they don't stop for water. They just keep… Uhh, waddling? Whatever. On their Pecopecos while I'm trailing behind, carrying all their water containers. Too heavy for the Pecopeco, they say. Hmph. Grumbling, I keep walking. Wouldn't want them to hang me from a tree, would I? That is, if they can find a tree, in the middle of the Sograt!

Well, the trip to Payon was uneventful. Came back the same way. Ended up running into a tree when I wasn't looking. They didn't even tell me there was a tree! The rest hurried on, not caring about me. A priest happened to find me, my nose bleeding, and multiple scratches on my arms on legs. I can still remember that situation.

-

"Are you alright?" the priest asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I reassured him. Heal. "Thanks."

"Are you traveling with anyone?" That question silenced me.

"No…" I replied. "I'm traveling alone. Just, heading back to Prontera."

"Then let me warp you back," he offered. "Then you can rest up in no time." His kind words silenced me once more.

"No, thanks," I said, trying to unsuccessfully crack a smile. "I'd like to… Enjoy the view." Yeah, sand, sand, and… Oh, look! More sand!

"Umm, okay then," he then dug around his uniform. "Take this, in case you run into more trees." He handed me a few bottles of potions and a playful wink. Just then, the whole moment was spoiled with a, "Gallagher, get your armored ass over here! We're thirsty!" Obviously, it had to be my father. Who else could shout out a message from halfway across the Sograt?

"Thanks, a lot," I finally managed. "For everything. See you again, someday. I guess." For a priest, he's sure awfully playful. I thought men of God were all serious. And old. And… Never mind. He was nice. Really nice.

"If fate allows it," he said, with another wink. "See you around." That was the last time I saw him.

-

I still laugh at that memory. No, I never did see that priest again. Maybe I should visit the Sanctuary one day. But what are the odds he might be there. He's probably in Glast Heim, on some really private and confidential, dangerous mission that no one else can know. Well, to whoever you are, my friend, I salute you. I chuckled again.

"What in Niblheim are you laughing at?" A huge tug at my ponytail, and a sharp knock on the head. Ouch! Darn, was caught reminiscing again. Turning behind, holding my bruised skull, I saw my mother's face looming above me. Gee, way to go to get my attention. Yeah, treated like a regular servant.

"Nothing, ma'am…" No, I can't call her "Mom". Too degrading, she says. Ouch, woman, that hurt. Well, nothing I can do now. I continue to sit and scrub away. I've made some friends. Yeah, those young mothers who're pregnant, some old ladies who're very nice and give me a tip or two about cleaning. A nice traveler, once in a while. My thoughts immediately go back to the priest I was thinking about earlier. I started working again with a smile on my face.

-

A few years later…

Guild war. The notices have been put up everywhere. One member of each family must go. Three guesses who's chosen. Well, the next thing you know, I was walking, once again, to Payon. Yeah, the guild castle was all the way in Payon. Of all places. Many are surprised to see a knight without a Pecopeco. Oh, Niblheim, many are surprised to see a new face! The Chivalry never saw mine, that's for sure. I'm too busy scrubbing away and training in remote areas when my family isn't home. Well, I made much effort while they were enjoying themselves in Lutie and Comodo. Ah, let them. I can slot in training. Lots of it. If I wanted to become a Lord Knight, I'd have to work really hard.

…

The guild war is over. I stand over a pile of dead bodies. Wizards. Blacksmiths. The occasional Assassin of the Cross. Yes, they are killed in guild wars. Holding the Flamberge over my shoulder, I glance around. The castle reeks of blood. Hey, I'm bleeding. Wow. Odin, sometimes my own sarcasm overwhelms me. Well, here I am, breaking people's noses by bashing the hilt of my Flamberge against their faces. The next thing I know, I'm practically skewering them one by one, defending my own right to live. And sadly, by taking others in the process. I can't count how many people I've managed to killed. The whole fight was brutal. The castle walls were black with all the fire used my wizards. Blood splattered all over the floor. Swords, spears and axes through everyone's bodies. The sight was sickening.

And I finally could go back to Prontera…

…

No warm welcome. No congratulations for winning the guild war. No questions. No inquiries. There was one question, though, but it went like this, "How much did they pay you?" Gee, I'm fine, thanks! I went straight to my room. If I still had one, after disappearing for a few months. Ah, yes, it was still there. The moment I hit the bed, I could feel myself drifting off to…

"GALLAGHER CASSIENDRA!"

"I'm up! I'm up!" I jump up; fixing my hair that had been messed up under the helm. I put on the Iron Cain, in case it was another one of those missions that require me to get booted out of the house again and out into the wilderness. Racing to the door, I grab my helm on the way, not bothering to put it on, in case I ran into one of my sister's dolls on the way. Seriously, twenty-years-old and still playing with dolls. Sometimes, I wonder when she'll ever grow up and do the fighting. Jumping down from the stairs, I stumble and accidentally crash into the person in front of me, which happened to be my sister, unfortunately. Crashing to the floor, she suddenly has the voice to yell at me in front of the stranger.

"GALLAGHER CASSIENDRA, WHY OF ALL TIMES MUST YOU BE SO CLUMSY! IN FRONT OF A GUEST, NONETHELESS! WHY IN THE WORLD DO YOU HAVE THAT STUPID IRON CAIN ON! TAKE IT OFF BEFORE I YANK IT OFF THAT EMPTY HEAD OF YOURS! AND WHERE ARE YOUR MANNERS! DO YOU KNOW IT'S RUDE TO STARE AT PEOPLE YOU CRASH INTO? YOUR ARMOR IS HEAVY, NOW GET OFF OF ME!"

Her piercing scream never ceases to amaze me. I just stare up at her and sigh. Hey, she's wearing armor, too, and you don't see her complaining.

I roll off, slowly, clutching my head. Hey, she didn't get her head knocked into my armor. She got up, dusting her uniform, and headed to the kitchen. She'll probably get apple juice for whoever came by, and a bottle of water for me. Hey, be grateful, she's actually serving you! That little voice calls in my head. Well, it's right, I guess. Shaking my head a little to clear my head from the fall, I see a hand outstretched to help me up. Glancing at his feet, the garb showed a High Priest that was helping me up. Just then, the person speaks.

"Are you alright?" a familiar voice calls out. I jerk my head upwards and my mind flashes back in time, to a few years ago.

And see a familiar face.

-

"Are you alright?" a priest asked.

…

"If fate allows it..."

…

"See you around…"

-

I smile and take his hand.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I reply. "Thanks."

Just fine…

END

A/N: Wow. That was… Just aww… I'm feeling nostalgic… (Sob) If you want me to explain, the whole connection of the story and the title all though it may not seem connected, is that Cassiendra says she's fine, even through all the hardships her family puts her through, and basically this priest is like, a reminder that not all things are bad. That little part in the summary where it says "loved one", the priest/High Priest is sort of a comforter. Well, the rest, I'll leave it up to your own thinking. Darn, I'm losing my touch in darker, more sorrowful stories. I'm just really emo, so, no surprise. I love these kind of stories. But I don't know why I write them when I'm supposed to be all negative and stuff. Oh, well, thanks for reading! I know I've become soft. Well, a lot has happened, so, I guess it's not going to be much of the same. Well, again, thanks for reading! And please, please, please… If you have the time, review, okay? It makes me sad when I see that I've posted up three or four stories and none are reviewed! (Cry) Hahah, kidding. But yes, please do review! I'd really appreciate it! Thanks once again!

-Skye